When I was twelve years old, on my birthday, I received my very first pocket knife. It was a gift from my father and it was amazing. It was a Boy Scout knife that had two blades, a can opener and a screwdriver that hurt your thumbnail when you tried to open it — I can still feel the black faux wood handle and the blade as it bit into a stick or a piece of wood.
Years later, I can only remember two gifts that my dad ever gave me — even though I’m sure there were more. One was the grey tweed overcoat he had tailored for me when I turned 21 — which I still have but can no longer fit into — and the other was the pocket knife I got when I turned twelve — which I no longer have, but wish that I did.
This pocket knife tradition continued with my two sons and upon each of their twelfth birthdays they received their very first pocket knife from me. And my youngest son kept my tradition going by losing his six months later.
Pocket knives have been carried by men for a hundred years or more. However this practice was stilted somewhat by the events of 9/11. With stricter restrictions on security and safety, knives were no longer allowed on flights, government building and other institutions and many men who normally carried a pocket knife, stopped in order to be compliant with the new rules.
However there are no states that forbid pocket knives.
See the State Knife Laws — http://http://pweb.netcom.com/~brlevine/sta-law.htm#A-H
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In fact, a ‘knife’ and a ‘pocket knife’ — a folding knife with a blade less than 3” — are in two completely separate categories.
Now, you’re not going to get your pocket knife on an airplane as carry on — but you can throw it in your bag that you’re checking without a problem at all — any certain federal buildings may not allow it, but anywhere else you not breaking any laws by carrying one.
Pocket knives are a great handy tool to have and you have a right to carry one if your wish.
HOW TO SHARPEN A KNIFE.
For here, we’re going to discuss sharpening a knife using a wet stone. Now there are many other ways to sharpen a knife and even more new gadget-ee devices — those that you can cut a tomato and then a nail — and I’ve tried a few of them and there is nothing better than an old fashioned wet stone.
1. Get a wet stone. These are also called whetstones because the word whet means to sharpen and you can get one at any hardware store, department store or you flea market.
2. Soak the stone. Sharpening creates heat. Too much heat and it can warp your blade which is why you should never sharpen your knife on a grinding wheel. Also, wet stones are very porous and in order to keep the filings from the blade of filling the holes of the stones you need to create a liquid coating on the surface. You can do this by soaking the stone in water for twenty minutes, or you can use mineral oil or a light dish soap/water mixture.
3. Identify the bevel angle. This sounds more complicated than it really is and all it means is that the blade of every knife is angled differently. Most pocket knives have a 30 degree bevel angle, whereas kitchen knives and others may be different. So all this means is, match the angle of the blade with the angle you are lifting the knife up to sharpen it. You want to sharpen the very end of the kinife, not grind down the steel around it.
4. Sharpen first side of the knife. Position the knife at the bevel angle and pull the blade back; glide the knife along the stone. Gently, slowly pulling the blade back against the stone. Sweep the knife down and off the end of the whetstone. Repeat about a dozen times or so.
5. Repeat on the other side.
6. Test the blade. You can do this by slicing rhough a sheet of paper — a sharp blade should glide right through — or run it rough side along your thumb — NOT blade side down, but holding the blade horizontally, run the blade across your thumb. The rougher the blade is against your thumb, the sharper it is going across.